philadelphia a’s

SUNBURY, Pa. – April 15, 2017 – PRLog — Lawrence Knorr’s Wonder Boy – The Story of Carl Scheib: The Youngest Player in American League History has been released by Sunbury Press in paperback and ebook.

About the Book:Carl Scheib, from Gratz, PA, was a young farm boy of 16 who was signed to a major league contract by Connie Mack of the Philadelphia Athletics. Carl enjoyed 11 years in the major leagues, interrupted by his service in World War II. When he made his first appearance in 1943, he was the youngest player in modern major league history. The following season, Joe Nuxhall of the National League’s Cincinnati Reds, pitched 2/3 of an inning at age 15, breaking Carl’s major league record, but Carl retained his American League record.

Known as a good-hitting pitcher, Carl hit .396 in 1951 and .298 in 1948. He hit five home runs in his career, including a grand slam.

As a pitcher, Carl was a key hurler on the 1948 Philadelphia Athletics, going 14-8 during a tight pennant race. He also went 11-7 in 1952, and saved 11 games in 1951. Behind his “pitch- to-contact” approach, the A’s set the all-time record for double plays in a season with 217 in 1949, a record that still stands.

Wonder Boy chronicles the rapid raise of Carl Scheib from his high school days at Gratz and his contributions to Dalmatia in the West Branch League, to his subsequent major league career, facing such players as Joe DiMaggio, Bill Dickey, Ted Williams, Yogi Berra, Bobby Doerr, Satchel Paige, Bob Lemon, Larry Doby, Bob Feller, Luke Appling, Early Wynn, Mickey Mantle and many more.

About the Author:
Lawrence Knorr is an amateur historian with deep roots in the Pennsylvania Dutch Region. Lawrence has had a long career in information technology. He is the co-owner of Sunbury Press, Inc. and an adjunct Professor of Economics at Wilson College, Chambersburg, PA. Lawrence is a past President of the Mid Atlantic Book Publishers Association, and is currently a Board Member for the Pennsylvania German Society.

Lawrence lives with his wife Tammi and has two daughters a stepson and a stepdaughter.

Gratz, PA — Former major league pitcher Carl Scheib, who is the youngest player in American League history, having taken the mound for Connie Mack’s Philadelphia A’s in 1943 at the age of 16, will be at the Gratz Community Center July 7th, 2016 at 7 PM. Carl’s biographer, Lawrence Knorr, will present his latest book Wonder Boy – The Story of Carl Scheib: The Youngest Player in American League History. Lawrence and Carl will then answer questions and sign copies of the book which will be for sale through the Gratz Historical Society. Carl will then donate some of his memorabilia to the Gratz Historical Society Museum.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Carl Scheib, from Gratz, PA, was a young farm boy of 16 who was signed to a major league contract by Connie Mack of the Philadelphia Athletics. Carl enjoyed 11 years in the major leagues, interrupted by his service in World War II. When he made his first appearance in 1943, he was the youngest player in modern major league history. The following season, Joe Nuxhall of the National League’s Cincinnati Reds, pitched 2/3 of an inning at age 15, breaking Carl’s major league record, but Carl retained his American League record.

Known as a good-hitting pitcher, Carl hit .396 in 1951 and .298 in 1948. He hit five home runs in his career, including a grand slam.

As a pitcher, Carl was a key hurler on the 1948 Philadelphia Athletics, going 14-8 during a tight pennant race. He also went 11-7 in 1952, and saved 11 games in 1951. Behind his “pitch- to-contact” approach, the A’s set the all-time record for double plays in a season with 217 in 1949, a record that still stands.

Wonder Boy chronicles the rapid rise of Carl Scheib from his high school days at Gratz and his contributions to Dalmatia in the West Branch League, to his subsequent major league career, facing such players as Joe DiMaggio, Bill Dickey, Ted Williams, Yogi Berra, Bobby Doerr, Satchel Paige, Bob Lemon, Larry Doby, Bob Feller, Luke Appling, Early Wynn, Mickey Mantle and many more.

PHILADELPHIA, PA – Sunday June 28, 1953 — Jimmy Dykes’ A’s won in dramatic fashion this afternoon, carried by the arm and bat of Carl Scheib. The Gratz, PA native was embroiled in a pitchers’ duel with rookie Mike Blyzka of the St. Louis Browns. The two hurlers exchanged zeros through the 6th inning. The Browns took the lead in the 7th on a suicide squeeze bunt by Jim Dyck, plating Clint Courtney, who had tripled. The A’s evened things up in the bottom of the 8th. Dave Philley singled and went to third on Pete Suder’s knock. Eddie Robinson then drove Philley home on a sacrifice fly. Scheib retired three power-hitting Browns in order in the 9th on fly balls — Dick Kokos, Roy Sievers, and Vic Wertz. Blyzka then took his turn in the bottom of the 9th and retired the first two batters on grounders — Loren Babe and Ed McGhee. However, Joe Astroth ripped a triple to the scoreboard, putting the winning run on third with two outs. Browns manager Marty Marion visited the mound and summoned his closer, Satchel Paige, from the bullpen to face the next batter, pitcher Carl Scheib. Known as a good-hitting pitcher, the 6’1″ Pennsylvania Dutchman stepped in against the veteran former Negro League star, who would go on to the Hall of Fame. “Ole Satch” fired two strikes past Scheib, but Carl got a hold of the next one, ripping it to the wall in center field to score Astroth for the winning run. The A’s won 2 to 1. Carl Scheib was the winner, pitching a complete game, yielding only four hits, no walks, and one earned run while striking out three. It was Carl Scheib’s last win in the major leagues.

For more details about Carl Scheib, see his new biography: Wonder Boy – The Story of Carl Scheib: The Youngest Player in American League History.

SUNBURY, Pa. — Lawrence Knorr’s Wonder Boy – The Story of Carl Scheib: The Youngest Player in American League History has been released by Sunbury Press.

About the Book:Carl Scheib, from Gratz, PA, was a young farm boy of 16 who was signed to a major league contract by Connie Mack of the Philadelphia Athletics. Carl enjoyed 11 years in the major leagues, interrupted by his service in World War II. When he made his first appearance in 1943, he was the youngest player in modern major league history. The following season, Joe Nuxhall of the National League’s Cincinnati Reds, pitched 2/3 of an inning at age 15, breaking Carl’s major league record, but Carl retained his American League record.

Known as a good-hitting pitcher, Carl hit .396 in 1951 and .298 in 1948. He hit five home runs in his career, including a grand slam.

As a pitcher, Carl was a key hurler on the 1948 Philadelphia Athletics, going 14-8 during a tight pennant race. He also went 11-7 in 1952, and saved 11 games in 1951. Behind his “pitch- to-contact” approach, the A’s set the all-time record for double plays in a season with 217 in 1949, a record that still stands.

Wonder Boy chronicles the rapid rise of Carl Scheib from his high school days at Gratz and his contributions to Dalmatia in the West Branch League, to his subsequent major league career, facing such players as Joe DiMaggio, Bill Dickey, Ted Williams, Yogi Berra, Bobby Doerr, Satchel Paige, Bob Lemon, Larry Doby, Bob Feller, Luke Appling, Early Wynn, Mickey Mantle and many more.

About the Author:

Carl on the mound at Shibe Park in Philadelphia.

Lawrence Knorr is an amateur historian with deep roots in the Pennsylvania Dutch Region. Lawrence has had a long career in information technology. He is the co-owner of Sunbury Press, Inc. and an adjunct Professor of Economics at Wilson College, Chambersburg, PA, teaching International Finance and Comparative Economic and Political Systems. He also taught Accounting, Macro/Micro Economics, Business Finance, Intro to Business, Marketing, Money & Banking, Intro to Management, Business Law and State and Local Government. He was previously an IT executive for Ahold USA, the Chief Information Officer for the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board, and founder and CEO of NorSoft, Inc. of Camp Hill, PA. He has also taught at Harrisburg University of Science and Technology (Project Management and Software Engineering), York College, and Penn State Mont Alto. Lawrence holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business/Economics (History Minor) from Wilson College (summa cum laude) and a Masters of Business Administration from Penn State (Beta Gamma Sigma). He is also a Certified Computer Professional, Certified Scrum Master, and Project Management Professional. Lawrence is a past President of the Mid Atlantic Book Publishers Association, and is currently a Board Member for the Pennsylvania German Society.

Lawrence lives with his wife Tammi and has two daughters a stepson and a stepdaughter.

He is currently working on The Bang Story – From the Basement to the Big Lights. He previously published a three volume set of his Knorr grandparents lineage entitled Seventy-One Years of Marriage: The Relations of George and Alice Knorr of Reading, Pennsylvania.

Lawrence has collaborated with fiction author Keith Rommel to write the self-help book How I Got Into Hollywood.

Lawrence is also an accomplished photographer, known as Lawrence von Knorr, collaborating on the books Hells Kitchen Flea Market andWormleysburg: Jewel on the Susquehanna with his wife Tammi Knorr. As T. K. McCoy, Tammi featured Lawrence’s work in three books entitledPhoto Impressionism in the Digital Age, Pennsylvania Through the Seasons and Images of Italy. Knorr’s work was also featured in Contemporary Photo Impressionists. He provided the photograph’s for Melanie Simm’s poetry compilation Remember the Sun. For more information about Lawrence’s award-winning artwork, please seewww.vonknorrgallery.com